


Reunion in Red

by Ursa_Tattoo



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Attempted Suicide Mention, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Tom and Matt are only mentioned, oh boy is this gay as hell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-06-09 11:05:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6903298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ursa_Tattoo/pseuds/Ursa_Tattoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Edd's finally caved and joined Tord, but he's not himself. Tord worries; after all, what are friends for?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reunion in Red

**Author's Note:**

> Crossposted from tumblr; inspired by this: http://noenee.tumblr.com/post/144601399698/what-if-when-edd-finally-joins-tord-red-leader

It had been a week since Edd had finally caved.

The man, tired of running and fighting and fearing for his life, had laid down his gun and gone quietly, much to Tord’s surprise. When asked, all Edd had said was that he didn’t want to fight anymore.

Edd had been given his own room in Tord’s base, not far from Tord’s own quarters. He’d been uncharacteristically silent, speaking only when absolutely necessary. The only times he could be seen outside his quarters were when he had to venture out for food.

Naturally, Tord was somewhat concerned.

Tord knocked lightly on Edd’s door with his normal hand, not wanting to sound overly harsh or urgent. He had tried to give Edd some space and not bother him, but his worry outweighed that endeavor.

Edd opened the door after a moment; Tord had barely seen him the past few days, but he looked just as scruffy and tired as he had when he’d arrived. Had Edd been sleeping? It was unclear. His hair, longer than it had ever been, was askew, his eyes shadowed with dark circles. His stubble was too unkempt to be accurately called a beard, but it was certainly on the way to becoming one. Edd still wore his tattered hoodie and overcoat.

“What do you want?” Edd’s voice was flat and harsh. Tord resisted the urge to wince.

“Just wanted to chat, old friend.” Tord’s metal hand, previously behind his back, held out a cola can to Edd. “Thought you might want this.”

Edd stared blankly at the can, opening the door wide enough for Tord to enter before going back into the depths of his room. Tord entered the dwelling quietly.

The place looked like it had barely been touched. The only thing that looked in any way used were the two empty meal containers on the table. Edd had come out more than twice, right? Hadn’t he?

Edd was sitting on the couch in the main part of the dwelling, staring at his hands. They were covered in small scars, the pads of his fingers coarse, his nails chipped. They were darker than Tord remembered, tan and rough.

Tord sat next to Edd on the couch, offering the cola can to him silently. Edd ignored it.

“So, what’s on your mind, Edd? You haven’t really left your quarters.” After a moment, Edd responded.

“I’m fine.” Edd was terse and tense, refusing to look at Tord. The room was quiet for a few minutes, the two former friends simply sitting awkwardly next to each other.

“I really am glad that you joined me,” Tord said quietly. “I’ve missed having you around. The others joined long ago, but it’s not quite the same. Not the same relationship as we had, you know?” Edd remained silent, so Tord continued his thought.

“Every time I had to attack or try and incapacitate you, it hurt like nothing else. To try and wound my friend, it cut deeply.”

“That didn’t stop you from trying to kill me,” Edd said bitterly. He took the cola can from Tord’s hand.

“…I thought I had to. I would never permanently hurt you, my friend, but you _were_ trying to stop me.” Tord’s justification sounded weak, even to his own ears. “I’d never genuinely harm you, Edd. Never.”

“Too fucking late. If you really felt so shitty about trying to hurt me, then you wouldn’t have blown up the house and conquered the world!” Edd was shouting now, fire in his eyes. The cola can in his hand looked like it was going to burst from how tightly he was gripping it.

Tord’s air of casual confidence faltered, pain and regret in his eyes. “I-”

“No, it’s _my_ turn to talk. Do you even _know_ what I’ve been through these past few years?”

“You taking over the world didn’t change much, at first. I tried to talk you down from that, but we both know how well that worked out. But it was fine. The planet was being overtaken by my friend who broke everything-” Edd did not say ‘broke my heart’, much as that was an accurate statement. “-in order to do it, but I could deal.”

“And then Matt joined you.” It had hurt more than he could express with words to see his friend pointing a gun at him, hands shaking. He’d burst into tears after escaping, drowning his sorrows with Tom. “But I was okay, for a little while. I still had Tom, right?”

“And then I didn’t.” Edd choked out a bitter laugh, hands shaky. “I thought for the longest time that you had his under some kind of mind control. The addition of his new eyewear didn’t make things any better.” Edd knew now why Tom had agreed to join Tord, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

“So I was utterly alone. Running from the law, constantly afraid that I’d be shot dead by the people I once shared everything with. Can you even grasp how _terrifying_ that is? To think that your closest friends could be your utter demise?” Edd was gripping himself now, shaky. Things were quiet for a moment.

“I tried to kill myself. A few different ways. I figured if I just killed my past self, I could stop existing and it wouldn’t hurt anymore. My past self wouldn’t even have to live with the knowledge that you betrayed me, I’d just be dead before this whole ordeal even started.” Tord put a hand on Edd’s shoulder, only to find Edd’s face buried in his coat, Edd’s scarred hands gripping the material like his life depended on it.

“And now I’m here, and things aren’t the same, and I don’t even know if I can trust any of you again.” Edd’s voice was quiet and quavering. Tord rubbed Edd’s back in soothing circles, holding him close.

“Edd, listen to me. Things were awful for a long time, and I deeply regret all the hurt I caused for you. You were always my closest friend, and I fucked that up. But we’re together again, and I won’t hurt you anymore. Everything’s okay, Edd. You don’t have to hurt anymore.” Edd was sobbing into Tord’s coat, and Tord held him even tighter.

“I missed you… so much,” Edd choked out between waves of loud weeping. Tord nodded into Edd’s hair.

“I missed you too, my friend, more than anything.” The two held each other as Edd cried, every single bit of pain and heartache he’d been through released all at once. Tord felt tears in his own eyes, dripping into Edd’s hair.

Edd’s sobs slowly ebbed, eventually replaced by quiet hiccuping. The two pulled away from each other, eyes bloodshot and faces streaked with tears. Still, they were smiling now. Edd grabbed the coke can off of the floor, as it had fallen from Edd’s grasp when he began clinging to Tord.

He opened it, the shaken cola spraying directly into Tord’s face.

“ _Faen_!” Tord huffed and sputtered, trying to expel the soda from his nose, and Edd laughed with more sincerity than he had in years. Maybe things could be okay again.

-:-::-:-

From then on, the two had developed a routine. Tord brought cola to Edd’s room, and the two exchanged stories or watched movies.

“Wait, wait, you did _what_ to Tom’s eyepiece?” Edd laughed. Tord gave a cheeky grin.

“I rigged it to show dicks on the screen instead of his eyes for two whole days. You should’ve seen it, he was _pissed_. It was fucking hilarious.” Edd snorted with laughter, putting a hand on Tord’s shoulder to steady himself.

“Oh my _god_ , Tord!” Edd was giggling at the thought of Tom with dicks for eyes, and Tord just smiled at Edd’s adorable chuckles. His smile grew softer and softer as he watched Edd laugh with such warmth; it had been far too long since he’d heard it.

“Tord? What are you smiling about?” Edd’s chuckles had faded away as he looked at Tord’s warm smile. Tord quickly disguised it, turning it into a smirk.

“Your dorky haircut.” He ruffled Edd’s hair, which had been recently cut back into a shorter style rather than the pseudo-mullet he’d been sporting for the past few years. Edd squawked at the contact, shoving Tord playfully before straightening his hair where Tord made it stick up.

“You’re the one who had me cut it, asshole!” Despite the harshness of his words, there was no real malice behind them, and Tord knew that.

“Yeah, I know. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t look dumb.”

“You’re a dick, Tord.”

“You know you love it.”

_‘Yeah, I really do.’_

-:-::-:-

The two were rewatching the Return of the Insane Zombie Pirates from Hell movies again.

“These movies are so cheesy, Tord. Why do you love them so much?” Edd asked, staring down at Tord, who was lying across his lap.

“You’re cheesy and I love _you_ ,” Tord said absently, his brain focused more on the gore splashing across the screen than what he was saying. Edd stiffened.

“What?” He _couldn’t_ have heard that right.

Tord seemed to come back to himself, a blush spreading across his face. “Y-you heard me.” Now Edd was blushing. Things were quiet for a moment, Tord squirming a little under Edd’s scrutiny.

“Well, good. G-glad we’re on the same page,” Edd stammered. The two stayed frozen in their positions on the couch, the movie entirely forgotten.

“So…”

“So…”

“What… What are we, now?” Tord sounded almost vulnerable. Not quite, but almost. Edd was quiet.

“… I don’t know. I just came back not too long ago, so we should take it slow. Maybe.”

“Alright, Edd.”

“… I’m really happy to be back.” Edd’s fingers were tangled in Tord’s hair.

“I’m happy you’re back, too.” Tord’s fingers were entwined with Edd’s.

Yeah, things were okay.

**Author's Note:**

> this was the gayest shit ive ever written and i once wrote tomatt makeouts


End file.
